Madhouse of Inventions is The Contrast’s eighth album.

Across sixteen tracks, songwriter David Reid takes a surreal journey through the confusions, dilemmas, insanity and hypocrisy of the early 21st century from the barbed satire of opener ‘Bureaucrats’ (“I’m ten feet up red taped to the wall…”) to the reflective fuzzed out country of ‘This Final Day’ (“All the same it’s good to see you…”).

It is the band’s first album in five years and also the first to feature keyboard player, Simon Russell. Simon’s vibrant R&B inflected organs and pianos brilliantlycompliment David Reid’s eclectic and schizophrenicarray of guitars – alternately beautiful, chiming and abrasively corrupt. Everything is held together by the colourful but rock-solid rhythm section of Thorin Dixon (drums) and Richard Mackman (bass).

The album also features backing vocals from David Reid’s daughter Aimee, Neil Saunders and former band regular Kieran Wade plus, on ‘What Do You Get’, soaring live strings performed by Kat Moore.

It’s impossible to tie the band to any specific musical genre or movement, although, in view of their flamboyant, raw live shows, garage rock is perhaps the closest fit.

Operating out of Peterborough, a below sea-level (in more ways than one) city in the east midlands of the UK, The Contrast was formed by Glasgow born singer/songwriter/guitarist, David Reid in 1999. From the start, Reid’s plan was a simple one: “to write & perform songs that I love as much as my favourite records, books and movies”.